Bill to ban red light cameras clears House panel

Published: Thursday, February 14, 2013 at 08:28 PM.

Campbellalso said the cameras target low-income communities. She said when she ran for re-election the cameras were the chief complaint from residents in her district.

State money maker

Campbell also brought up the issue of money. She said the cameras are not about safety, only about revenue.

Those dollars were on Rep. Ed Hooper’s mind, too. The Clearwater Republican and retired firefighter said outlawing the cameras would cut into a state revenue stream.

“If this bill passes and is signed into law by the governor, you know there’s $80 million [of state money] that are gone just like that,” he said, snapping his fingers.

Hooper said some had claimed these fines hurt Floridians. He said the real harm is done when law-abiding drivers and passengers die on the road because someone runs a red light. “That’s what’s hurting citizens,” he said.

TALLAHASSEE— A bill to eliminate Florida’s red light cameras passed a House committee Thursday on a 10-8 squeaker vote split along party lines.

The bill (HB4011) was the first to be heard in the Economic Affairs Committee and now moves to the House Appropriations Committee. It would repeal a law that allows the red light cameras in the state. It received no Democratic votes; all but two Republicans favored the legislation.

“I’ve had my own demons … with this,” Rep. Jimmy Patronis, the committee chair, told members prior to the vote.

The Panama City Republican expressed his ambivalence on the cameras, trying to balance driver and passenger safety with restricting government intrusion and overreach. He said the goal should be that drivers respect the danger of intersections and approach with caution.

“I am guilty of running red lights. … I’m guilty of texting while driving, but I know … the awareness that this process has created in me has changed my whole approach with dealing with all these issues,” he said.

Patronis said he now felt like an advocate on the issue, wanting to ensure the state has safe intersections, but he said the day’s testimony hadn’t changed his mind on the bill and he still believed the law allowing the cameras should be repealed.

The bill only has two committee stops in the House because it’s a “repeal bill;” it’s not a new law. Patronis said these bills can’t be amended, which is unfortunate because he thought some adjustments could improve it.

Regardless, Patronis voted for it because, for him, the good outweighed the bad.

“I hate idea of cameras monitoring our citizens more than the positive merits of the” current law, he said.

Reps. Daphne Campbell, D-Miami, and Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, are the bill’s sponsors. Trujillo sponsored similar legislation in 2011, which passed the House, but didn’t get a full Senate vote.

In the meeting, Trujillo said there are ways to save lives at intersections without using red light cameras, without “violating our U.S. and state constitution” — through better engineered intersections, increased yellow light intervals and increased red light intervals.

Trujilloreminded members they vowed to protect the state and U.S. constitutions when they were sworn in.

“We’re willing to compromise the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution, the right against self-incrimination, for self-perceived safety,” he said. “That’s the road we’re going down. We are willing to tell someone, ‘You are guilty until proven innocent.’ ”

Trujillosaid the same mentality doesn’t apply to other charges, such as driving under the influence, noting that when these tickets are contested the onus is on the violators to prove their innocence.

Campbellalso said the cameras target low-income communities. She said when she ran for re-election the cameras were the chief complaint from residents in her district.

State money maker

Campbell also brought up the issue of money. She said the cameras are not about safety, only about revenue.

Those dollars were on Rep. Ed Hooper’s mind, too. The Clearwater Republican and retired firefighter said outlawing the cameras would cut into a state revenue stream.

“If this bill passes and is signed into law by the governor, you know there’s $80 million [of state money] that are gone just like that,” he said, snapping his fingers.

Hooper said some had claimed these fines hurt Floridians. He said the real harm is done when law-abiding drivers and passengers die on the road because someone runs a red light. “That’s what’s hurting citizens,” he said.

Paul Henry, a retired law enforcement officer, voiced opposition to the cameras, calling them “automated for-profit law enforcement.” He noted this bill starts in the Economic Affairs Committee and then heads to the Appropriations Committee. “It seems like we’re dealing with revenue here folks,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Florida League of Cities offered its opposition to the bill, saying it doesn’t want the state to encroach on its jurisdiction.

“The choice to have red light cameras is a local decision, and we think it should stay that way,” said Casey Cook, a league spokesman.

Similarly, multiple members of active law enforcement opposed the bill. Haines CityPolice Chief Richard Sloan said his city issued 6,000 tickets the first month the cameras were installed. Now it averages 1,700 to 2,000 tickets a month, with 13 cameras at nine intersections.

“I think it’s obvious that (the cameras) change people’s driving behaviors, and I think it’s obvious that it helps to save lives,” he said.

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